STIIIZY x TAYO KUKU PHOTOSHOOT COLLABORATION

SHOOT YOUR SHOT PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS BLACK-OWNED CREATIVE BUSINESS

Investing in educational and career opportunities for the Black community is important, and working with Black-owned businesses is one way to participate in community-based initiatives. Supporting Black-owned businesses can also help recognize Black culture and entrepreneurship. A typical goal that bonds Black entrepreneurs to create their own products and open their own businesses is to provide products and services connected to their own cultures. Working with Black businesses over chain stores and large corporations allows more resources to go toward businesses that represent Black culture directly.

However, Black-owned businesses face more obstacles in creating and growing their businesses due to challenges with attaining loans from the bank and securing capital and investors. “Approximately 4.3% of the 22.2 million businesses in the United States are Black-owned, and less than 1% are generating a median profit margin greater than 20%.” This performance disparity has only been exacerbated by the COVID-19 Pandemic. To recognize Black businesses, we began the “Shoot Your Shot” Black Photographer Spotlight campaign, where we invited Black content creators to submit their portfolios for an opportunity to be featured on our social media platforms.

Additionally, one photographer provided a portfolio that stood out, so we decided to outfit their business operation with a new setup. Our STIIIZY team purchased a Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8 L IS USM Lens to support Tayo Kuku’s content work. Be sure to give his IG a follow and check out the photoshoot collaboration between TAYO x STIIIZY that we recently shot, combining his editorial style of photography with STIIIZY brand visuals.